ILTA, Allied Trades Urge Senate, House to Agree to Strong Water Resources Bill

ILTA, along with seven other allied trade associations, sent a letter on August 19 to the chairmen and ranking members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Senate Environment and Public Works Committees, urging the panels to work diligently to agree on a strong Water Resources Development Act bill that can pass both the full House and Senate.

Specifically, allied trades asked that the committees ensure that additional deposits into the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund are only used for harbor maintenance projects, enabling long-overdue work to be done that supports safe and efficient navigation across the U.S. for vessels of differing shapes and sizes. The group also urged the committees “to maintain the adjusted cost-share for Inland Waterway Trust Fund projects. This shift will allow more trust fund dollars to flow to necessary inland waterway projects that have been, in some instances, neglected for many funding cycles.”

In addition to ILTA, the letter was also signed by: the National Mining Association; the American Petroleum Institute; the American Chemistry Council; the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers; the Industrial Minerals Association – North America; Dredging Contractors of America; and the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association.